Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson had some fun last week at the expense of National leader Christopher Luxon for holidaying in Hawaii while a Facebook entry indicated he was in Te Puke.
This week Robertson is relishing the spectacle of the Commonwealth Games, and the achievements of New Zealand’s sports stars.
He may even succeed in forgetting, at least for a short while, the economic mess that is mounting in NZ – not that he will concede he has had anything to do with inflation breaking into a gold-medal-winning gallop on his watch.
Moreover, he keeps insisting it has already past its prime.
Only last week he was telling his acolytes in Parliament that while the government is acutely aware that many New Zealanders are doing it tough,
“… we are taking action to support them.
“We’ve boosted the incomes of seniors, students in low-income families, while a million New Zealanders are receiving the winter energy payment. From next Monday, the targeted cost of living payment will deliver around $27 a week for low and middle income New Zealanders aged 18 years and over who don’t get the winter energy payment.
“In response to high fuel prices, which have been significantly driven by the war in the Ukraine, we have cut the fuel excise duty and road-user charges and halved public transport costs. Continue reading “While our Finance Minister enjoys the Games, our living costs are high jumping and too many Kiwis are tripping on the hurdles”